


Autumn

by moonlightrichie



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - High School, But only a little, Coming Out, Falling In Love, First Crush, First Kiss, First Love, Fluff, I honestly don't know much about autumn and when it is in maine, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, and yes i know in america it's usually called fall and not autumn, but i just think the word autumn is nicer hehe, but that's how autumns are in norway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26222725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlightrichie/pseuds/moonlightrichie
Summary: Eddie has a crush on his classmate, and it's during autumn, from the beginning of September to the end of November, that he falls in love for the very first time.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 9
Kudos: 87





	Autumn

**Author's Note:**

> Just a tiny thing I really wanted to write after getting inspired by the tumblr @itfandomprompts's monthly prompt "First".  
> I chose First Love!  
> Hope you like it!

It was a cloudy and breezy day in the start of September, the chilly air outside hinting at the first official day of autumn, and Eddie Kaspbrak sat uncomfortably in the worn-out wooden classroom chair. The teacher was talking, but he was paying Mrs. Eriksen no attention. Instead, his focus was on the back of a classmate's head. Sitting one seat to the left and two seats ahead, Richie Tozier's chin was placed in the palm of his hand, his arm resting on the table. His tangled dark curls were a bit messier than usual, looking as if he hadn't had the time to deal with them that morning. Eddie couldn't see his face, but he could still imagine. He was sure that Richie looked tired, with bags underneath his eyes, which Eddie could only describe as blue like the most beautiful northern light, magnified by the usual thick frames of glasses. Richie's other hand was tapping on the table in an uneven rhythm, one of his legs bumping up and down as well. Eddie noticed the chipped paint on his nails, a dark purple contrasting beautifully with Richie's pale complexion. Eddie couldn't stop staring, relishing in the fact that he could without getting caught. All of a sudden, Richie started to turn around, as if sensing someone's eyes on him, and his eyes locked with Eddie's. Two seconds passed, but it felt like an eternity. Eddie could feel himself blush as the two of them kept staring at each other, and he was about to look away in embarrassment, but then Richie smiled. A soft, secret smile that sent lightning shooting all the way through Eddie's body and out his toes. Eddie returned the smile, shy and careful, and couldn't help but think how exciting it was to have a crush.

Richie turned around again, and Eddie blinked his eyes in an effort to return to reality. His gaze drifted back towards the front of the classroom.

Eddie had been fond of Richie ever since the first day of High School. It had been during the exciting, yet scary, introduction of new classmates that he'd laid eyes on him for the first time. All 25 of them had been standing in a circle, learning each other's names. It was some sort of game where the first person in the ring said their name, and then the person standing next to them had to repeat that first person's name and then say their own name. The next person had to repeat both of the previous names plus their own, and so it went.

Eddie had felt his heartbeat quicken as he'd struggled to memorize all the names of the 15 classmates already having introduced themselves. Somehow he had managed to get through it without choking on the words, and had exhaled a shaky breath as they moved on to the next person, which was Bill.

Richie had been the last in line, and a few people had giggled sympathetically whenever he misremembered a few names and stopped to think about others. When it had been time for him to remember Eddie's name, the two of them had locked eyes, and Richie had said his name without skipping a beat.

And ever since that moment, Eddie had been completely whipped. Those glittering eyes creasing as he laughed in embarrassment every time he got a name wrong, pink pretty lips stretched out around his semi-crooked teeth. His long nose, high cheekbones, curly dark hair, tall, big hands, silly fashion sense, and he was so so _so_ endearing.

Eddie had caught himself looking at Richie way too often after that.

There was simply something about Richie that had Eddie flustered to the point of blushing. Even just the mention of Richie's name never failed to make a smile appear on his face. The thought of him, getting to see him every day in class, always made his heart beat.

That first official day of Autumn seemed like a starting point for something that was still unknown. Seeing Richie smile at him in the way he just did made Eddie feel a way he'd never experienced before. They hadn't ever really talked before, yet Eddie dreamt about it plenty.

Every night as he was about to drift off to sleep, he imagined what it would be like if Richie fell in love with him. He imagined them holding hands, cuddling, _kissing_. Showing off their relationship to the world. Richie putting an arm around Eddie's shoulders as he followed Eddie to track practice. Kissing Richie goodbye outside Richie's band's rehearsal room.

It was nice imagining those scenarios. The butterflies were welcome inside his stomach.

Eddie always looked forward to school, simply excited to get to look at Richie, even if it was only from a distance. It was weird. He'd never experienced something like it before.

He knew it was just a silly crush probably multiplied by 10 because of puberty hormones. Yet, it was exciting to have a crush, like the ones he'd only seen in clichéd movies. It was Eddie's first time experiencing it, and as he felt like he was walking on clouds about 60 percent of his time, it could only be described as a pretty nice thing to feel.

_______

It was almost a week after Richie'd smiled at him when Eddie had his first proper interaction with him.

He had just exited the pharmacy with his newest prescriptions when Richie came walking down the sidewalk. Their eyes locked. They both shared tiny smiles. Richie mumbled a soft "hi", which Eddie echoed back at him after a few seconds of flustered awe.

Eddie stared after him as Richie kept walking. He was wearing a denim jacket, something Eddie would have thought of as odd with the cold season hadn't it been for the colorful wool sweater he was wearing underneath. It was way too baggy for Richie's thin frame, and the thick material was poking out from the denim sleeves, bunched together weirdly. At some point, Richie almost tripped over his own feet, and as his arms reached out to soften the possible fall, one of his hands got stuck in the pocket of his jacket. He managed to catch himself in the last second, and he turned back around to meet Eddie's gaze again, a blush seeping over his cheeks. Eddie tried for a reassuring smile, but he wasn't sure if Richie got the message because he soon turned back around and sped down the street.

All in all it was a short moment, nothing special, yet it left Eddie's heart hammering so hard he was sure Richie could hear it even as he walked away.

_______

"I think I like someone," Eddie dared to say while he hung out with Bill a few days after.

"Huh?" Bill's eyes got wide as he put down his phone, a teasing smile soon making its way to his lips. "H-who!"

"I-" Eddie's voice caught in his throat, and he regretted saying anything in the first place. He let the silence stretch out for a moment, all of a sudden scared to look at Bill at all. "You know what, never mind."

" _Noooo_ ," Bill whined, scooting closer on the bed. He was about to keep going when he saw the look on Eddie's face. His voice changed immediately, getting noticeably softer. "What?"

"Uh-"

Bill put a comforting hand on Eddie's shoulder. "Eddie, wuh-what's wrong?"

"It's someone in class," he forced out, feeling the words getting stuck in his throat.

"You d-don't have to tuh-tell me, Eddie." Bill's voice was soft. "Even though I-I'll probably be very kuh-curious after this, not gonna lie." He smiled, and Eddie loved Bill more than ever in that moment. _Damn Bill for being so gosh darn amazing._

"It's-"

Again the words wouldn't come out. He swallowed, and took another deep breath. "It's that guy, Richie." He rushed it out, gaze turning away from Bill, not daring to see his reaction.

Silence settled between them for what felt like an eternity, and not the good kind that had passed between Eddie and Richie that day in the classroom. No, this was quite the opposite. It was an agonizing eternity, where each silent second was torture, and Eddie's heart raced, and he knew that if Bill didn't say something soon, he'd probably die or something. He needed air, clarity, and for Bill to say something, _anything._ But the quiet just kept going, and Eddie thought he was going to go insane if it wasn't broken.

"Oh," was the first thing that came out of Bill's mouth, the word almost too quiet to break through the cotton in Eddie's ears. "Well, that's-"

Eddie dared a look at him. It was clear that Bill had no idea what to say to Eddie's confession, but he could tell that Bill's intentions were good, that he didn't want to say anything wrong. Eddie held his breath as he waited.

"He s-s-seems like a very fuh-funny guy," was what Bill ended up saying in the end, and the smile on his face indicated nothing but positivity to Eddie's confession. It seemed to be Bill's way of saying that everything was okay.

"Yeah," Eddie breathed out, relieved now.

Bill hesitated. "So d-do you know if-f he, uh, likes… uhm, boys? T-too?" he added after a second.

Eddie picked at the comforter with shaky fingers, still not knowing quite how to talk about this openly, trying hard not to cry. "No, not really. No." His voice was quiet, almost a whisper, and he hoped Bill didn't notice the upset tone to it.

"Oh."

It was quiet between them for a while, Eddie fighting to not let the threatening tears fall. He bit his lip and took a deep breath, meaning for it to come out normally, yet a soft silent sob went along with it.

Bill looked as if he wasn't quite sure what to do, but it appeared he was, because soon after Eddie felt himself embraced by Bill's arms. Bill hugged him tightly, and Eddie let himself feel the comfort and the way it took a hold of his heart and slowed it down.

After Bill pulled away, a silent conversation happened through their smiles, and Eddie knew it was all okay.

_______

Eddie was walking home from school, music playing in his ears, and he was dreaming about love.

_We've met a few times, three or four times. They all went by much too fast.  
Eyes were so locked, lead to small-talk, wanting each moment to last._

The soft guitar made him think about Richie. He'd never gotten to see him play, but he couldn't help picturing it. His hands plucking on the strings, one of his feet tapping along to the music, his head bopping with the beat, his eyes closing, getting lost in it all. Eddie smiled to himself, hoping he'd get to see it someday.

_I can do this, try to focus, but it's so hard for me to see past your beauty.  
Yeah mostly, all I could get out was a laugh._

He let the lyrics take over his fantasies, imagining himself talking to Richie. However, if he'd actually get to talk to him sometime, he knew he'd most probably be a nervous wreck, unable to get a single word out, but it was nice to dream.

He imagined what it would be like after they were done getting to know each other, after they were in love, and he pictured watching Richie play a concert, pictured Richie on the stands, rooting for him as Eddie ran in track.

_Hope I'll get another try when you walk by, you walk by._

Just as the song ended, the sound of jogging footsteps crescendoed from behind. Eddie didn't have the time to turn around before the figure appeared in his peripheral vision, passing him. It was Richie, and he was running on the stone wall that divided the sidewalk from a parking lot. The stone wall barely reached up to Eddie's knees, but after seeing Richie trip the other day, he still got scared he'd fall and hurt himself.

The wall ended soon after, and Richie jumped off, doing a clumsy spin in the air. He landed facing Eddie, who was still a tiny distance away from him, and their eyes met.

Richie stopped, just like Eddie's own heart did at the realization that Richie was waiting for him. A shy smile crossed Richie's lips, eyes bright behind his glasses, and if it hadn't been for gravity, Eddie'd be flying high up in the clouds.

He pulled out his earphones, the music replaced by the sound of trees moving in the wind and of Richie's shoes on the asphalt as he scuffed his toes into the ground beneath him.

They walked together for a moment, both keeping silent.

Eddie wanted to say something, anything. Something interesting or funny. Something Richie might laugh at, or be fascinated by. But all words, sentences, topics, all conversation starters were too far away for him to catch, and he was left with a void in his brain, completely incapable of coming up with anything to say.

"You're on the track team, right?" Richie was the first one to speak. His voice was nice, especially now that his words were directed towards Eddie.

Eddie hadn't expected the question, and he swallowed a big lump that was stuck in his throat. It didn't help. "Uhm, y-yeah. I am." _Ugh, lame._

"Figured." Richie nodded to himself, smiling. "I've seen you run in gym class, and you're faster than everyone else. Like, fuckin' lightning or something."

"Oh," Eddie blushed at the thought of Richie having watched him during gym class. "Track is not only about being fast, though. It's also endurance."

"Which I don't doubt you also have plenty of." Richie's elbow poked into Eddie's bicep, and Eddie's heart jumped so hard he almost stumbled. He shrugged, but he couldn't stop smiling.

"What about you? Do you do any sports or anything?"

"Oh! No, not at all," Richie laughed as if it was funny. "I'm not much of an athletic person. If you ever see me do _anything_ in gym class, you'll totally understand what I mean."

Eddie already knew what Richie meant, having seen him try his best at sports and running. He found it endearing the way Richie stumbled his way through basketball and fumbled in volleyball, with his messy hair tied back in a half-up-half-down bun. His tall and lanky complexion lived up to all its stereotypes of clumsiness.

"I'm more of a music guy," Richie continued, putting both hands into the pockets of his dark-blue denim jacket.

"Yeah, I've seen you," Eddie started, noticing Richie's gaze burning into the side of his face, "with a guitar bag on your back. Walking in the halls… and stuff."

"Yeah, I play some guitar."

Eddie already knew this, but he still couldn't help himself when he exclaimed, "That's so cool!"

Richie shrugged, and Eddie relished in the soft blush on Richie's cheeks. "I guess."

"In a band, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm not, like, super good or anything. But I enjoy it."

"I'm sure you're good. I would-," Eddie stopped, already blushing at the confession he was about to make, "I would love to hear it sometime."

In many ways he wanted to take away the words as soon as they were out of his mouth, but at the same time, he was swimming in the hopes of a good reaction from Richie, enough to let them stay out. His heart was hammering in that good way that made his skin tingle as Richie looked over with a bright smile.

"Yeah?"

Eddie nodded shyly. "Yeah, if that's- if that's something you would ever want, of course." His voice was croaky from nerves.

"Sure." They smiled at each other.

Richie soon stopped and pointed down a side-street. "My house is down here, so…" He gripped the straps of his backpack with both hands, going up and down on his toes once. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

Eddie couldn't help his confusion. "T-tomorrow?"

"At school?" Richie's eyebrows raised slightly.

The realization made Eddie's stomach drop, and he felt stupid all of a sudden. "Oh, right!"

Richie looked away, down the street he was about to head down, before turning back to look at Eddie, hesitating as if he didn't want to leave.

"Let me know if your band is playing sometime," Eddie rushed out, not wanting to part ways yet. "I'd love to come."

Richie's eyes were sparkling, and for the first time, Eddie got to study his features properly, being so close to him. And there were freckles on Richie's face that Eddie had no idea existed, and they were speckled all over his face and rosy cheeks. He was beautiful, and Eddie wished he could kiss him. He really wanted to kiss him.

"I'll definitely let you know." He started walking away, backwards, and once again Eddie got worried Richie would fall. "And, hey, if you ever have some sort of track competition or anything like that, I'd love to come to that too. I don't know how track competitions work, but I assume you have them? I don't really keep up with that stuff at all, but yeah… I'd _definitely_ come to that. So, uhm, yeah. Bye."

With a last wave after his rambling, he turned around and walked away. Soon Eddie did too, scared that if he kept standing there with that love-stricken daze on his face, Richie would look back, notice it and possibly think he was weird.

His skin was still tingling as he made his way home, a slight skip to his step and a massive smile on his face that he couldn't wipe off even if he tried.

When he opened his facebook later that night, there was a friend request waiting in his notifications.

_______

They talked a bit on Messenger after that. It started with Eddie daring to send a "hey!", which lead to a conversation where Eddie was snorting from how much he was laughing, trying to keep it down so his Ma wouldn't hear it.

Every other day since, the two of them would send each other dumb memes, or links to videos they wanted to share with each other. Richie sent Eddie a link once, saying "look at this cute sloth!! SO CUTE", and when Eddie clicked it, "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley started playing.

Richie knew Eddie loved sloth videos, and had taken advantage of this fact. Eddie hadn't trusted any of Richie's links for a week after that.

They'd greet each other in class every day, making Eddie blush just as deeply every time. Once, Richie had plopped down at the table where Eddie and Bill were sitting during lunch, dragging his friend Stan along with him. The four of them had ended up having a pretty good time together.

Bill had asked about it briefly, knowing about Eddie's crush and all, but all Eddie did in response was to shrug. Bill could still tell based on how red his cheeks had gotten, though.

_______

Eddie was finally getting to see Richie's band play.

After telling him about the concert, Richie'd warned about a probable lack of audience members, and to "not expect too much", with a nervous smile. Eddie wasn't expecting anything specific, but he knew he'd love it no matter what, and he told Richie as much. Richie had blushed at that.

It took place on a Friday night in the middle of October, and walking over there together with Bill and Stan, his excitement went through the stratosphere and all the way up to the starry sky.

"What's their name again?" Bill asked, huddling more into his jacket, each puff of air coming out looking like smoke.

"Slipper," Stan said, smiling at the strange looks he got from both of the other two.

"Slipper?"

"Slipper," Stan confirmed, nodding his head. "Spelled S-L-I-P-R, and with capital letters."

"Who came up with that?" Eddie wondered.

"I think it was mainly Richie's? But everyone in the band contributed to it. I think it was Mike's idea to spell it that way."

They all stayed silent for a second.

"Well, I guess that's pretty cool." Eddie could definitely picture the situation. Richie coming up with the most random word he could think of, perhaps even kidding, laughing while mentioning it, and then being surprised when the response was positive. He smiled at the thought. "I've never heard them play before."

"They're pretty alright," Stan shrugged, and Eddie didn't know Stan well enough yet to know what that meant.

Eddie spotted Richie immediately when they walked into the venue, also noticing how there were only around a dozen people there. The venue itself wasn't that much, the stage not really a stage at all; it was simply on the floor with a backdrop hanging behind it, and marked up by monitors dividing the performance section from the audience.

Richie had talked a lot about that place before, and as it turned out it was a cultural centre for teenage musicians to use for rehearsals and concerts. It was open every single day and encouraged the young musicians to use the place when putting on shows. Very helpful to young teens who couldn't pay the thousand dollars to rent the bigger venue in town for one night.

Richie's eyes lit up as soon as his eyes landed them, and he abandoned the people he was already with to rush over and hug them all. "Hey!" After hugging both Stan and Bill, he turned to Eddie with a grin.

"You came." His voice was gentle, as if he only wanted Eddie to hear them.

"I told you I would," Eddie said, shrugging, with a matching smile of his own.

Richie's smile only widened as his arms reached out to wrap around Eddie's shoulders, and even though every second with Richie felt like forever to Eddie, he was pretty sure the hug lasted longer than the hugs Richie'd given Bill and Stan. Eddie let himself be completely absorbed in the feeling of Richie holding him, feeling like he was breathing deeper than he'd done in a long time. The feeling of Richie's fingers clutching at the fabric on the back of his jacket. The feeling of Richie's stubble prickling his cheek. The feeling of Richie's ear piercing pressing coldly into Eddie's temple. The feeling of his chest against Eddie's as he breathed. Imagining Richie's heart beating as fast as his own, and maybe even feeling it too. 

Richie lingered for a second, letting his left arm stay wrapped over Eddie's shoulders as he pulled away and turned to the other guys, both of whom Eddie had forgotten was there.

The concert was pretty great, and Richie's band was a positive surprise. There were some inconsistencies with tempo in a few of the songs and a bit messy at times (not that Eddie was a music expert), but that only added to the charm. They were still young. The potential was there, and there was no doubt in Eddie's mind that they could get somewhere someday with that music.

He recognized all of the band members. There was Beverly from French class on drums, Ben from the track team on synth, Mike, also from French, on bass, and then Richie on guitar and vocals. And even though his voice was a bit shaky at times, his singing was also a positive surprise. All of Richie shone on that stage, eyes bright as they flickered between the different crowd members, lingering on Eddie every once in a while. He loved performing and it showed.

Stan let Eddie know that it was Richie and Ben who was behind most of the lyrics, and was very clear about how the silliest of texts were all Richie. Ben was the one to add depth to the songs.

And a lot of the lyrics were definitely a bit silly. But they were also honest, relatable, and at times self-deprecating, like the line, " _Gotta forget the dream of getting a tan / I just get sunburnt_ ", and it was nothing like the music Eddie was used to hearing at all.

There was a glow to Richie when they were finished and he was making his way around the room to greet everyone in the audience. Even though there weren't that many people in the audience (Eddie counted around 25), the people who _were_ there seemed to be absolutely over the moon for the band's show. There seemed to be several parents, and Eddie assumed the man and woman Richie hugged was his. There was a loud group of boys who threw themselves all over the band in hugs, seeming to be great friends with Richie's band, and they also looked to be a band of their own. The atmosphere was pretty wonderful.

Richie caught Eddie's eyes, and Richie was soon making his way over, hugging all three of them and blushing at the praise, before once again letting his arm stay wrapped around Eddie's neck.

In a moment of bravery, Eddie reached up to touch Richie's hand hanging over his shoulder with his own. "I'm very glad you invited me to this." He looked up to see Richie looking right back, seeming to be a bit flustered. Then he caught himself and smiled brightly, his pinky finger hooking into Eddie's.

They only let themselves stand like that for a moment, before a mutual agreement to pull their arms away from each other passed between them and they took a step apart.

Yet the air between them remained electric.

_______

Even though the four of them had started hanging out quite a lot, there were still several times where Eddie found himself hanging out solely with Richie.

They'd started walking home from school together every day that Eddie didn't have track practice and Richie didn't have band rehearsal, and usually they ended up in one of their bedrooms.

Eddie had found out that Richie talked a _lot_ , and Eddie did not mind at all. More than once had he stayed silent, watching Richie's animated movements while he talked about something he was passionate about. Music, comics, video games, even memes, and Eddie could easily listen for hours. Even a lifetime. But every time Richie got lost in his passions, at some point he'd seem to always notice how he was rambling, and he'd proceed to stop abruptly with a blush spreading over his face. Eddie tried to encourage him to keep talking by asking follow-up questions, which always made Richie's face light right back up once again as he continued talking.

So yes, Richie talked a lot, but after hanging out as much as they had, Eddie had also found out that the only time Richie _didn't_ talk every two seconds was when listening to music.

The first time it happened, it was when Richie wanted to show a really cool part of some song he loved, and after he hit play, Eddie didn't even notice at first how Richie was being quiet. All he really noticed was that something was different, something felt off, and then it hit him that it was the lack of Richie's sparkling voice. He'd gotten so used to bathing in the tone of that voice, that now he didn't know what to focus on.

Until he looked over to see the look on Richie's face as the music played. His room was equipped with a fully realized sound system, and the room seemed to vibrate from the loud bass line, shaking the way Eddie's heart always seemed to do around Richie.

Richie's eyes were wide, concentrated, his mouth slightly open. Then when the vocals came in, he started to lipsync along. His fingers were drumming the beat on his thighs, and he seemed completely lost in the music.

Then he gently grabbed onto Eddie's forearm and shifted closer on the bed. "Listen. Listen now, this part is so good."

Eddie did his best to do that, even though most of his focus was on the tingles that Richie's fingers left on his skin.

A few moments later Richie sighed and shook his head with a look of pure admiration and disbelief on his face, indicating the part was over. "I just love that part so much. Like the chord progression with a hint of brass in the background. So good." He sounded out of breath, as if he'd been the one playing. And it almost seemed like Richie lived in music so much that he just as might have.

"It was," was all Eddie managed in response.

"So, what about you?

"What about me?"

"What's your favorite song?" Richie had lowered the volume of the music now. His fingers were still placed gently on Eddie's arm, shooting up spark after spark through Eddie's body. Richie was floating in his bloodstream now.

"Uhh…"

"Just like, if you were gonna listen to music with headphones now, just you, what song would you put on?"

"Uhm, something by Troye Sivan? I don't know." He felt unnecessary nervous all of a sudden.

Richie was already tapping on his phone. "I don't think I know him actually."

"He's pretty good."

"Which song do you wanna hear?" Richie turned his phone towards Eddie with a smile.

"Maybe _Rager Teenager_? I like that one." He scooted closer to help Richie find it, and soon the soft intro of the song was floating through the room.

They both stayed silent the entire time the song played, and Eddie kept his gaze on the comforter all the way until the end, listening to the song and feeling Richie's presence in the air next to him. It felt kind of weird sharing music with someone like this, and he really wanted Richie to like it as much as he did. He looked up finally, only to see that Richie was already watching him. Eddie's heart skipped a beat.

"That was beautiful," Richie said.

_______

Eddie was running.

Running so fast that his lungs were burning, his legs shaking and begging for him to stop. His heart was racing, his feet thundering against the rubbery ground beneath him, and still he pushed on. He was closing in on the guy in front of him, fighting to pick up in speed. It was the only guy left to beat.

All sounds were drowned out by the storm in his ears, a combo of the whirling wind and his rushing blood. As the fastest person on their track team, they always had him run the last lap of the relay race. Even though he knew there was pressure on his shoulders of being their last chance at winning, he refused to let it get to him and stress him out. All his focus was now on decreasing the distance between him and the competitor. No focus on the lactic acid turning his legs into jelly. No focus on the cheering crowd gathered by the finish line. No focus on his lungs being on the edge of combustion. No focus on anything but running, and running _faster_.

Eddie was a stubborn runner, and would push himself to his absolute limits. even sometimes to the point of throwing up immediately after finishing a race. Although it sounded awful, he was okay with it. He _loved_ running.

Despite all the tiring and nauseating aspects of the activity, nothing had ever made him feel more free than running did. It made him feel alive, like his body had a purpose. Like he had a purpose, being _good_ at something. He was sure it was the kind of feeling a bird would have while flying. Because that was what running felt like: like flying.

His mom had never made him feel particularly free. In fact, quite the opposite. He knew he couldn't escape her grasp that easily, but that was the thing about running. Even though he wasn't escaping, running made it _feel_ like he was. Like he could do anything. 

Around two seconds before crossing the finish line, Eddie passed the other guy, ending up in first place and winning the relay race for the school's team. He collapsed immediately, incapable of holding his exhausted body from doing anything but.

He was on his back, his arm covering his eyes as he smiled in happiness about having just done that. Slowly the ruckus in his ears disappeared as he got control over his body again, replaced by screams from the crowd. He sat up, barely catching his teammates running towards him and yelling in excitement before being tackled by the three sweaty boys in a group hug.

"That was fucking amazing, Eddie!" Ben screamed in his ear, and Eddie laughed euphorically.

He managed a peak over Ben's shoulder to catch Richie, Bill and Stan chanting his name from the stands. Richie held a sign with the words, "GO EDDIE KASP _TRACK_ " on it, high up over his head, and he was chanting the loudest.

_______

It was on a rainy afternoon in the start of November when Richie kissed him.

They were on the bed in Richie's room, having used the last couple of hours after school sharing more music and talking. They didn't really have to do much to keep themselves entertained when it was just the two of them. They were listening to one of Eddie's favorite songs, both keeping quiet as the lyrics about love floated through the air, when Richie leaned in.

The kiss was short, soft, and felt as important and colossal as the universe. Richie looked as surprised as Eddie was when he pulled away, as if he hadn't expected himself to do that.

For a second that felt like forever, Eddie worried that Richie had acted on a weird impulse, leading up to regret. And for that eternal second, the world stopped and Eddie's face paled, and his stomach was churning and all of a sudden, as his world was about to fall apart, a shy smile formed on Richie's lips, holding Eddie's world together after all.

"Was that okay?" Richie asked, biting his bottom lip in worry. His voice was gentle, gentler than Eddie had ever heard it be, and it shut off the ringing in his ears. Now all he could hear was Richie's breathing, deaf to even the tiniest of sounds coming from anywhere but from him.

Eddie gave a slight nod, pushing his lips together in an awkward smile. "Yeah," he breathed.

It was beyond okay: an absolute dream in fact. They shared nervous smiles.

"So, you…" Eddie didn't know how to continue.

"Yeah," Richie nodded, seeming to understand what Eddie was trying to say.

"Does anyone know?"

"Stan. What about you?"

"Bill."

Richie nodded, and they smiled at each other, reaching out for the each other's hands.

The song was still playing in the background, acoustic guitar and soft synth filling both their ears, and with their friendship shifting between them and changing into something new, something beautiful, it all fit perfectly.

_______

It was a snowy and cold day in the end of November, the freezing air outside hinting at the nearing of Christmas, and Eddie Kaspbrak sat uncomfortably in the worn-out wooden classroom chair. The teacher was talking, but he was paying Mrs. Eriksen no attention. Instead, his focus was on the back of his boyfriend's head. Sitting one seat to the left and two seats ahead, Richie's chin was placed in the palm of his hand, his arm resting on the table. His tangled dark curls were pulled into a bun, a few loose hairs hanging down over his face. Eddie couldn't see his face, but he knew what Richie looked like. He was sure that Richie looked tired, yet still somehow glowing, his eyes (which Eddie had come to learn were a deep midnight blue) magnified by the usual thick frames of glasses. Richie's other hand was scribbling something on a tiny piece of paper, looking deep in concentration, as if he was doing the most important assignment of his life. Eddie noticed Richie's newly-painted nails, the ones Eddie had helped paint, a dark blue contrasting beautifully with Richie's pale complexion, matching his eyes. Eddie couldn't stop staring, relishing in the fact that he could. All of a sudden, Richie started to turn around, as if sensing Eddie's eyes on him, and their eyes connected. Two eternities went by as they looked at each other. Both of them blushed, and Richie smiled. A soft, secret smile that sent lightning shooting all the way through Eddie's body and out his toes. Richie's smile always did that to him. Then Richie picked up the paper to show Eddie what he'd scribbled: a poorly-drawn heart with the letters _R+E_ in the middle.

Eddie returned the smile, bright and happy, and couldn't help but think how wonderful it was to be in love.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you think!  
> Come be my friend on tumblr: moonlightrichie


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